


Where Did Everybody Go?

by Kerkerian



Series: Whumptober 2020 [3]
Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Abandonment Issues, Childhood, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Kid Fic, Mac needs a hug, Minor Injuries, Whumptober 2020, emotional mac whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-07
Updated: 2020-10-07
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:28:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26880679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kerkerian/pseuds/Kerkerian
Summary: Whumptober Prompt Day 8: Where Did Everybody Go? ("Don't Say Goodbye"/Abandoned/Isolation)Mac's dad has left him, but there are other people around who care about the boy.
Series: Whumptober 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1952242
Comments: 15
Kudos: 49
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	Where Did Everybody Go?

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own MacGyver.

October 2000

Lilian Bozer closed her washing machine, started it and straightened up, her mind already on the grocery list when something caught her attention. She stopped in her tracks and turned back to the window: there, sitting on one of the swings in her back garden, was one Angus MacGyver.

He was moving himself back and forth ever so slightly with his toes, hunched in on himself and apparently, deep in thought. Lilian's heart immediately went out to him. She had long since accepted him as one of her own, which couldn't replace the son she had lost but which nevertheless had a soothing quality she had been surprised by.

Having Angus in their lives had done all the Bozers good, not least of all Wilt, who had taken Angus under his wing and was as protective of him as if he was his real brother. He had felt so guilty after what happened to his actual little brother, had fallen into such a deep hole of despair that his mother had feared for him, even though she hadn't been much better off herself. With the help of a psychiatrist, Wilt had eventually learned that it hadn't been his fault, but he had only begun to be his old self when Angus had turned up. According to Wilt, he had saved Angus' life that day, and even though Lilian didn't know the whole story, she was willing to believe it.

And now, over a year later, she was aware that Angus needed her family just as much. She still couldn't believe that his father had just left this sweet little boy like that. Angus had been utterly brave and self-controlled ever since; he barely spoke during the first few months after it happened though, and whenever he had spent the night at her house afterwards, he hadn't been able to keep up the facade at night. He had usually managed to keep it together until Wilt was asleep, but afterwards, he had cried.

Mrs. Bozer crept into the boys' room then and sat with him, stroking his hair or his back until he had calmed down and eventually fell asleep, exhausted by the extent of his sorrow. They never talked about it in the mornings, but that was okay. His grandpa, who had had no choice but to take over, seemed relieved that Angus had a proper family to turn to, and he didn't mind when Angus slept at his friend's house. The fact that he kept coming back told Mrs. Bozer that she was doing something right.

Lately, she hadn't seen that much of Angus in the daytime; not that he and Wilt weren't still close, but Angus had an increasing tendency to disappear after school. Wilt said he knew where his friend was and that it was a safe place. Lilian had an inkling that it might be a tree house somewhere, judging from the nature of the stains on the boys' clothes and the occasional leaves and twigs (and on one very memorable occasion, a spider) in their hair, and had decided not to investigate further once Wilt had promised her, in all seriousness, that she needn't worry.

She knew her son well enough to believe him, even though he often was Angus' loyal accomplice; the blown up football field came to mind. Which, according to both boys, had been an accident, and Lilian had believed that too. Not because she was an overly doting mother who thought her offspring couldn't do anything wrong, but because she usually knew exactly when Wilt was telling “an untruth“. Also, Angus seemed physically incapable of lying. He couldn't look anyone in the eyes on the few occasions he and Wilt had tried to weasel their way out of something by avoiding the truth, so it was easy to see through him.

Right now though, Wilt was nowhere in sight, and Angus... he looked terribly forlorn. For a moment, Lilian debated whether she should leave him be, but then she decided to at least ask him if something was wrong. He looked up when he heard her footsteps crunching the leaves on the grass, but didn't say anything.

“Hi, darling,” she said gently. “You okay?”

“Hi, Mrs. B.,” he replied in a low voice, a brief smile playing around his mouth before he averted his gaze. “Yeah, I'm fine.”

She regarded him sympathetically: “You sure about that, honey?”

Angus looked around the garden as if hoping to find an answer somewhere; he didn't know what else to say, so he shrugged, then aborted the motion with a wince.

Mrs. Bozer narrowed her eyes: “What was that? Are you hurt?”

He was, but he didn't want to admit it. It was stupid, really: he had fallen off his bike earlier, and once more, it was his own fault. He had been so absorbed by a formula he had been thinking about that he had subsequently been startled by a car when it had passed him by rather closely, causing him to flinch so violently that he had lost control over his bike and crashed against the curb. And now his left wrist was hurting so much that he couldn't climb the rope up to the lab.

Since the crash had happened closer to Bozer's house than to his own, he had come here, even though his friend was at his beloved AV club right now. He was going to wait for Bozer, he hadn't expected the latter's mom to be home though, since she was usually doing her grocery shopping on Wednesday afternoons.

“Angus?” Lilian now enquired. “You gonna answer me?”

Angus opened his mouth and closed it again. He liked Mrs. Bozer a lot, and her expression was so soft and affectionate now that he couldn't lie to her. “I hurt my arm,” he murmured, suddenly feeling near tears. “I crashed my bike.”

“Oh, honey, I'm so sorry,” she said tenderly. “Why don't you come inside and let me have a look at it?”

“Don't you have to go shopping?”

“I haven't even written my shopping list yet.” She smiled. “And anyway, I reckon this is more important.”

At that, Angus looked up with such a surprised expression that she felt her heart constrict.

“Come on,” she said, trying not to let on how much this was shaking her. “I'll be careful, I promise.”

As Angus nodded and slid off the swing, she put her arm around him and led him into the house, where she made him sit down in the kitchen. After she had washed her hands, she gently rolled up the sleeve of his shirt: Angus' wrist was visibly swollen, and he couldn't move it without any pain.

“Honey, I think you'll have to go and a see a doctor,” Lilian said sympathetically. “I don't think it'll be enough if we put some ice on it.”

Hesitantly, Angus nodded, fighting back tears.

“I'm going to call your grandpa, okay?” Lilian reached out to stroke over his hair.

Angus looked up at her right then, his eyes swimming, his expression desolate: a wretched figure, and a moment later, Mrs. Bozer had gently put her arms around him, mindful of his injury, and hugged him close. Angus burrowed his face into her soft sweater and inhaled her warm, comforting mom-scent and couldn't stop his tears any longer. He couldn't even remember when he had been held like this the last time, feeling protected and loved as though nothing else mattered right then.

She kept stroking Angus' hair and gently rocked him, telling him that it was going to be okay and that he was going to be fine, and he believed her. She sounded certain, and he felt safe in her embrace. It took a while for him to calm down though, and when he did, Lilian's eyes were moist as well.

“Next time,” she said into his hair, “come straight to me, okay?”

“Okay.” His answer was barely audible, but she could feel how he tightened his grip around her once more, and she gladly held on to him for a while longer.

When Harry Jackson came to collect his grandson half an hour later to take him to Dr. Clarkson, Mrs. Bozer invited him and Angus to dinner that night. He looked as though he was hesitant, but then he glanced at the kid. Angus appeared calm, having composed himself in the meantime, but Harry wasn't fooled. Angus was a lot like his mother, who had also preferred to tough things out on her own, even when it was too much. And the way Angus looked, pale and almost rigid with self-control, this definitely was too much for him.

Poor little whelp. He had been admirably brave, and Harry knew that he himself was too much of a loner most of the time to make up for the warmth that was palpable here, at the Bozers' house. So he accepted Mrs. Bozer's offer, at which his grandson's face lit up a little.

“Come on, Angus,” he then said, holding out his hand. “No way out but through, eh?”

“Yes, grandpa,” Angus murmured resignedly, getting to his feet. “Bye, Mrs. B. Thank you.”

“See you later, honey.” She smiled.

He gave her a brief smile in return as he took his grandfather's hand and followed him out of the house. Lilian watched them; for all intents and purposes, Harry was as affectionate as he was able to, and that was a reassuring notion.

Angus climbed into the back seat of Harry's station wagon, waving once as they drove off.

With a sigh, Mrs. Bozer closed the door and went to write her shopping list.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading/lurking! I'm not a Native Speaker, therefore I apologize for any mistakes.
> 
> Since we never got to see Bozer's parents, I made up his mom's first name. I think it's strange that they haven't appeared on the show even once (I was hoping for that during the episode which took place in Mission City), considering that Mac practically lived at their house at one point.


End file.
